Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Sources at the agency disclosed that Mr. Ubah was arrested by a team of operatives at his Maitama home in Abuja.

A detective at the agency revealed that Mr. Ubah had ignored earlier
invitations to the EFCC to voluntarily submit to interrogations
regarding his role in the multi-billion dollar oil subsidy scam. Ubah
is currently undergoing interrogation at the Abuja offices of the EFCC.

Actress Foluke Daramola is getting ready to sue her former friend and
journalist Bukola Fasuyi for defamation of character. Bukola had claimed
in an interview that she introduced Foluke to her new husband, Kayode
Salako, and that Foluke had used juju to charm Kayode and break his
home. (If you missed it, read the story HERE)

According to people close to Foluke, she and some family members have
contacted their lawyer to sue Bukola for character assassination. Bukola
will soon appear in court to prove that Foluke indeed used diabolical
means to obtain Kayode Salako.

Bukola told an Encomium reporter this week that she's not bothered about
a lawsuit and is waiting to get the petition from Foluke's lawyers. She
said she still feels bad for introducing Foluke to Kayode because the
introduction was for Foluke to get financial help from Kayode and not to
take him from his wife. "I'm not bothered about a lawsuit though Kayode
has sent a threat message to me that we would meet in court. I'm more
bothered about Kayode's wife. I hope she forgives me" She said.

Two suspected drug traffickers have tested positive for narcotic ingestion at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said that one
of the suspects inserted four wraps of cocaine, weighing 210 grammes, in
his anus while another ingested 67 wraps, also of cocaine, weighing
1.085kg.

NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar, said tension was high when one
of the suspects, Onedigbo Chibueze Emmanuel, 28, apprehended during the
screening on a Qatar Airline flight going to Pakistan,could not expel
one wrap of cocaine.

“While Akwaeze Anthony successfully expelled all 67 wraps of cocaine
he ingested without assistance, the case of Onedigbo Chibueze Emmanuel,
who inserted four wraps of cocaine in his anus,was different,” he said

“He was unable to expel one of the wraps until medical doctors came to his rescue.
“We were disturbed because his life was in danger.”

Preliminary investigation revealed that Onedigbo Chibueze Emmanuel is
an unrepentant drug trafficker who was recently deported from Thailand
after serving a three-year jail term over drug related offences.
According to Onedigbo who hails from Okija in Anambra State: “It is true
that I was deported in February 2013 after serving three years jail
term in Thailand.

“I went back into drug smuggling becausethere was nothing for me to sustain myself.
“My desire was to get some money from the drug deal and establish a business that can help me prepare for my future.

The
controversial N4.5 billion Sunborn Yacht Hotel, brought from England
and moored on the Lagos waters for over four years, has finally
disappeared from the state after the controversies surrounding its
ownership.

It will be recalled that the custom built yacht, with
102 elegant suites, arrived the Lagos waters in November 2008 and
instantly became a cynosure of all eyes.

The yacht, expected to
serve as a four_star hotel, was, however , bedeviled by controversies
since its arrival which led to it abandonment and subsequent rusting
away on the water-ways.

When Vanguard visited the quay, by the
Army Officers’ Mess at Marina, Lagos Island Local Government Area, there
was no sign that such expensive and eye catching structure ever berthed
there.

Enquiries from the state government and even residents of
the state yielded no result as no one could say specifically what
happened to the multi_purpose built yacht that moored on the state water
for over four years.Commissioner for Tourism, Mr. Oladisun Holloway,
when asked to comment on the development denied the state government’s
knowledge of the where about of the supposed ‘first African luxury hotel
on water’.

According to Holloway; “As citizens of the state
can’t find it, so is the state government also. The government can’t say
precisely where the Yacht is berthed at present.”

The
commissioner reiterated that “the state government doesn’t have any
commitment in the yacht. And I don’t know why the residents of the state
should be interested in whereabouts of the Sunborn yacht.

The
four-star hotel, originally owned by the City of London, was
conceptualised as a leisure and business centre to service the higher
echelon of Lagos society. Mr. John Smart, a boat operator, said he could
not say accurately the whereabouts of the four_storey multi_purpose
built yacht, since removal last month.

According to Smart; “I
cannot say the date when it was removed but all we saw on one fateful
day was a large number of people who crowded the Sunborn Yacht and towed
it away with another ship. They didn’t inform anyone where they will
be taking the yacht to and since then we were yet to see it.”

So,
the question on the lips of residents and concerned citizens which has
remained unresolved is; “where is the Sunborn Yacht Hotel and who is
behind the deal”. Time will tell.

RECALLING what happened between Chioma Akpotha and Yemisi (The
Vanguard reporter) on the AMAA flight from Port Harcourt, one would have
expected a cultured woman to be contrite and apologize forthwith, since
everybody is error-prone. I crave your indulgence to say this not
because the former is a movie star and the latter a journalist. More so,
I dread not to raise my voice for the truth and my compassion against
injustice.

It was quite unfortunate to read a report from today’s Vanguard
Online in favour of Yemisi (their staff), as against Chioma Akpotha who
was publicly insulted alongside every Igbo speaking individual on that
flight, by Yemisi. Besides, if some of us do have the franchise to
suffer disharmony with our personal values, I still want to believe that
in reporting a case, Professional Journalism should keep it quite
professional by not identifying with any side in an issue of this
manner. But this is obviously not the case of the Vanguard reporter who
wrote the story between Chioma Akpotha and Yemisi. The reporter in
question has proven to me that fiction can sometimes make a better job
of the truth and an exaggerated relativism.

Exaggerated relativisim
How could you in every sense of professionalism start a story involving
your fellow reporter and Chioma Akpotha by saying “Like most Nollywood
stars, Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha is not given to pretence. She’s always
ready to vibrate and return fire-for-fire. Last Sunday evening was not
different. Smarting from the frustration and exhaustion that greeted
everyone after the AMAA awards and the endless wait at the Port-Harcourt
International Airport, Chioma boarded the evening flight back to Lagos,
determined to cause another stir on board”.

A 35-year-old commercial bus driver, Abraham Ikujunni, has been
arrested for allegedly assaulting an official of the Lagos State Traffic
Management Authority and resisting arrest.

According to LASTMA
authorities, the bus driver allegedly stri*ped an official, Oyeyemi
Olusola, ripping his pair of trousers apart.

It was learnt that the incident occurred on Friday in Ikorodu area of the state.

It was learnt that the suspect was accosted for not wearing a seatbelt before the incident occurred.

A
LASTMA official, who craved anonymity, said, “Around 8:26am on Friday,
the LASTMA official apprehended the suspect around Odonguyan area of
Ikorodu for not using a seatbelt.

“The official entered his
vehicle and told him to park properly. He however drove the official
into a street where there were commercial motorcycle riders

“The
riders then supported the suspect and the LASTMA official was assaulted
and his pair of trousers was torn. Fortunately, backup arrived and the
suspect was arrested.”

Our correspondent sighted the suspect’s
statement in LASTMA office. He denied assaulting the official, but
admitted tearing his trousers.

He wrote, “My bus was faulty and I
was trying to fix it when the LASTMA man accosted me. He said I should
park properly so as not to obstruct the flow of traffic and I parked. He
wanted to arrest me and I resisted so a struggle ensued.

“He
slapped me and my shirt got torn in the process. I then engaged him in a
struggle and while people were trying to separate us, his trousers got
torn in the process. Please, I am also a victim.”

The
Presidency has distanced President Goodluck Jonathan from the troubles
being faced by the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi just as it
added that no governor is not above the law.

Briefing newsmen in Abuja on Monday on the reported grounding of
Amaechi’s aircraft by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Special
Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Mr. Ahmed Gulak, denied
the Rivers State Government’s claim that it was been witch-hunted.

The presidential aide added that it was about obedience to laid down rules.

Gulak said, “If you are a governor and you are flying a private jet,
you must do it within the extant laws. There are laws governing the
usage of private jets in this country and the world over and because you
are a governor does not give you the licence to flout the laws
governing your country.

“Nigerians should be told in clear terms that no governor is above
the law and the fact that you have immunity does not mean that you flout
the law the way you want.”

He added that Jonathan had no interest in who becomes chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

He stated, “Mr. President is ready to work with any chairman of the
NGF. After all, the President is a constitutional organ while the NGF
is not a constitutional organ.

“So why should Mr. President care about them. He does not care about who becomes the chairman of NGF.”

Gulak also said the president had not authorised any minister to
canvass votes for him for 2015 presidential election; a reb*ttal that
became necessary following a statement credited to the Minister of State
for the Federal Capital Territory, Olajumoke Akinjide, during a
ceremony in Ibadan, where she openly canvassed votes for the President
in 2015.

The presidential aide stated, “We have said it before that whether
Mr. President will contest in 2015 will be unveiled to Nigerians in
2014. Whatever anybody is saying or doing is on his own.”

He also denied plans by the current administration to probe former President Olsegun Obasanjo.

Gulak said, “I believe that the former President (Obasanjo) expressed
his opinion or his fears but Mr. President has not said he will probe
Oby Ezekwesili. The fact is that Nigerian government, especially this
government, is always and constantly under probe.”

The
crisis rocking the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party
took a turn for the worse on Monday when the executive of the party
issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, to
explain the ownership of the aircraft that was recently banned by the
Federal Government.

The state PDP also announced the suspension of 27 out of 32 members
of the Rivers House of Assembly from the party for refusing to rescind
their decision to suspend the Obio-Akpor Local Government Chairman, Mr.
Timothy Nsirim, the vice chairman of the council and 17 councillors.

Among those suspended from the party for allegedly flouting the
party’s directives are the Speaker, Mr. Otelemaba Amachree; the Deputy
Speaker, Mr. Leyii Kwanee; and the House Leader, Mr. Chidi Lloyd.

The state chairman of the party – Mr Felix Obuah, while speaking with
newsmen at the party secretariat in Port Harcourt, said Amaechi would
face disciplinary action if he failed to comply with the ultimatum by
the party over the controversial aircraft.

Obuah further warned that the PDP would not condone a situation where public funds were frittered away.

He said, “The Rivers State Government should within 48 hours explain
how billions of naira from the state coffers was used to purchase the
aircraft. Where is the aircraft purportedly bought with the Rivers State
funds and tax payers’ money?

“From the records made available to us made available to us and the
statements credited to the Acting Director General of Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority, Joyce Nkemakolam, the aircraft Bombardier D.D700,
Global Express aircraft with Registration Number 5N5N65 RS purportedly
bought by the Rivers State Government was false as its registration
showed that it is owned by the Bank of Utah Trustee of Salt Lake City,
Utah United States of America.”

Speaking recently in an interview with entertainment soft sell, Global Excellence, the Bonsue Fuji originator says, ‘If you are conversant with the happenstances in Nigerian entertainment industry, you will find out that all my brothers that claim they are doing hiphop like D’banj, Davido and the rest are all fuji singers. When you listen to the way they sing, you can see that the voice is fuji’.

Still describing the music he said, ‘the beat they put behind it is what changes it to hiphop and R&B. What they are doing here is ‘tungba’ because immediately you press play, you start dancing all the way’

47-year old Ayuba, who has been carrying the fuji gospel for over two decades winning several local and international awards has also collaborated with several hiphop artistes in Nigeria includingRemedies, 9ice and Sound Sultan.